I was extremely burnt out and found myself barely staying afloat in the last month of 2012. So when I finally got my lazy bones together to film my 2012 sum up video, I left out my usual accounting of what happened in the past year. Also because I reckoned the subscribers are probably tired of me talking non-stop about stuffs that didn’t concern them xD

But now I feel guilty towards all the hard work I did in 2012 so I'm jotting all these wonderful experience in words. I'm sure I will look back at this entry one day and marvel at a spectacular year spent.

I included links to related blog entries for easy referencing so click on them if you care enough ^^

1) Jan – Cosplay @ Istana

We were engaged to mingle with the crowd as Cosplayers during a charity event held at the Istana. The Istana is the official residence and office of the President of Singapore. It’s equivalent to the White House of the USA and The Istana is only open to public 5 times a year.

What an honour to be able to Cosplay, serve the community, earn some cash and do something most Cosplayers can't, all in a day!

2) Mar – Lovely Complex Photoshoot

Zephyus cosplayed as Risa Koizumi and myself as Otani Atsushi from Lovely Complex. Much anticipated (by me) and a very unexpected cosplay from both of us xD it was a great shoot and I had so much fun cross dressing ! My Risa was so pretty and we are height accurate !!

After owning the costume for so long , I finally finally got to shoot it with Yuanie & Gin! The location and shoot was kindly sponsored by Cheezz which is an awesome DIY studio. If you're starting out in Cosplay and would like to have nice studio-ish photo of yourself but don't know any photographers, then this can be a great place to start. It's also good for parties xD

After much nudging from Inuran, I started watching PMMM. We were supposed to cosplay it at a event but schedule clashed and we ended up with just a shoot. The shoot was arranged in a really short time because we wanted to shoot with the iLights display at Marina Bay area. But I was really glad we rushed for the iLights display that is held only once a year because the results were pretty magical. It was also my first experience with photography light painting!

Flew to Jakarta, Indonesia for the first time to take part in Cosplay: The Serie's First Anniversary event. Much thanks to the CTS Team for taking care of me during the trip, feeding and lodging me ^__^

After the last PMMM Shoot, Brian and I still had a lot of ideas bouncing off our heads for Homura. So we organised another shoot! It was such a long but fun and pampered shoot with Maria & Cvy helping out *bliss*

Did a shoot for Meguine Luka & Hatsune Miku’s song; Rondo of the Sun & Moon. Again another super belated photoshoot of a costume that is more than a year old. We bashed through forest to get to the location and it was so worth the effort ! Inuran makes such a pretty Miku!!

Flew to Sydney Australia for a 11 days holiday with Zephyus, Ziyu and Peggy out of my own pocket. We attended SMASH and I had my first taste of what it’s like to be a Media representative at a formal Press Conference! Being there was so nerve wrecking yet exciting! The format of the interviews were so different from what I was used to so I was basically thinking on my toes even though most of the interview questions had already been pre-planned!

It didn’t helped that our flight only came in that morning and lunch + shuttle bus + going to the wrong hotel caused us to be late for our allocated slot in the Press Conference.

But still it was an experience I could show off for a long long time. We got to talk with some of the SMASH organising members backstage and felt so moved by their genuine love for Animanga. And we got to interviewed 3 prolific Japanese Voice actors/actress!

With the super down-to-earth and awesome Miyamura Yuko ! She is the voice of Asuka Langley from Evangelion! Interview to come soon!!

… and Sakura Tange who was the seiyuu of Kinomoto Sakura from Cardcaptor Sakura!!

I also saw Koalas, kangaroos, wombat and fed Wallabys!!

I also had my first proper photoshoot in a foreign country with the awesome Icie / Pireze!! Much thanks to Zephyus for being so game and dragging her Fuwa Sho costume over to Australia. It was such a lovely, comfortable and fun session!

Had a long planned photoshoot with a group of friends whom I have known for more years than a palm has fingers but never cosplayed together before! Cvy was Rin, BanditYing was Yukio, Himiko was Bon, Verse was Shima and myself as Shiemi ! It was an easy and relaxed shoot xD Group photo is small because I haven’t gotten their permission yet =X

Blog Link : Coming soon

11) August – Philippines, FantasyQuest

Much thanks to the awesome Team Verdana and my lovely Filipino friends, I had an awesome time in Philippines in August . And of course, I flew over to attend the magical Fantasy Quest! The garden that the event was held in was so beautiful and the event was so memorable ;) If you guys ever have the chance to attend it, please go!!

Had the chance to do a bit of cameo acting in Cosplay: The Serie’s 3rd season filming in Singapore when they came over as guest for International Cosplay Day Singapore . It is scheduled to come out in January 2013.

Blog Link : TBU

13) Aug/Sept – Singapore Toy Games & Comics Convention

Was invited to support STGCC as a Supporting Blog and my 2nd experience joining a Media Preview session. It was definitely a very different experience for me and it gave a new purpose to attending local events. Through out the 3 days of the event, I had the great chance to interviewed many of the of talented guests such as Tristan Eaton, Leinil Yu, Touya Hibiki , Kousaka Yun, Jacky Dosaii, Itou Noizi and Piko!

So I didn't win the OMY Blog award and I also had to miss the OMY blog award event because I was in Australia. But because the Winner and the Runner Up couldn't make it for the trip , I ended up getting a free trip to Macau instead! Thank you Jesus!!

The trip was awesomely extravagant and luxurious and Macau is SUCH a beautiful place! My most memorable part was watching " The house of dancing waters" and having the exclusive chance to tour the production house backstage !

I also had the chance to attend the Macau Comic Festival, watch the DANCEROIDS and Itou Kanako perform! This is me with JOY MAX, NitroPlus’s spokesperson. I also managed to hang out with my Macau friends <3 !

My biggest reward was befriending the rest of the bloggers. All of them were amazing in their own ways, had admirable day jobs, vivacious personal life and most of all, were friendly and down-to-earth. With each of us representing a totally different category, we were as different as could be. It was a great honour to be part of the group and even till now, we keep in contact via Wadsapp.

I attended my first Cosplay event in China Tianjin. It was a trip all about Cosplay and the flight schedule were so taxing but I had a lot of fun mingling with the other foreign cosplayers and opening my eyes to the armour/ mecha cosplayers in China!

Blog Link : TBU

17) Oct - Beauty challenge

Was by invited skinhub to join as one of their Beauty Challenge's exclusive bloggers. This allowed TheCosplayChronicles' to appear on CLEO magazine the first time, albeit in an advertisement. The advertising campaign was also on some of the local SMRT Trains.

Was invited by Nekojin, a Singapore based web seller of niche tech gadgets to be an affiliate with them. If you're fretting about what gifts to give someone who has everything , maybe you can check out the brain wave activated cat ears xD

Got invited by Spawt to experience their new mobile App. Spawt is an intelligent mobile guide that helps you discover and share the best experiences around you. Experiences can include food, shopping deals and play stuffs =) go download it at iTunes for free now ;)

20) Shakugan no Shana III (Final) Photoshoot

Begrudgingly closed the chapter to my Shakugan no Shana fandom with this long anticipated photoshoot. It was such an awesome shoot and I got to work with a wonderful team of people ! This was also my first shoot with fire, real fire. I really need to talk more about the shoot so pls look forward to my blog entry of it!

*Phew* I think that’s all of my 2012 highlights! I can’t believe how lonnnnnnnnnnng I spent on this entry. I am almost sure I have left something out but I don’t know what…will update this entry as I remember and when updates is available xD

When 2012 came to an end, I was a little sad and disappointed in how little I achieved during it because I am just another forgetful human. I thought it was a lousy year spent being busy busy busy busy, rushing work after work after work stuffs and forever feeling tired. And compared to the previous year, there was lesser holidays travels!

But as I did this entry I gradually remember how blessed I was and wanted to give myself a pat on the back for a job well done. I hadn’t won any awards or competitions but had other aspects of my hardwork appreciated and recognised. I also embarked on a new milestone in life.